White and Dark Peak, Derbyshire, Peak District, England, UK

The landscape of the Peak - The Dark Peak and the White Peak

Landscapes in the Peak District come in two forms, the Dark Peak and the White Peak. The brooding high moorland tops of the Dark Peak in the north take their name from the underlying gritstone. Known as millstone grit from its former use, the millstone is now used to mark out the Peak Park boundary. The White Peak to the south is a limestone plateau dissected by the valleys of the Manifold, the Dove, the Lathgill and the Wye.

The Dark Peak, known as the High Peak, was described by Daniel Defoe as "perhaps the most desolate wild and abandoned country in all England", its windswept, mist-shrouded and inhospitable moorland often encompasses large areas of bogland. The thin soils only support mosses, cotton grass, bilberries and heathers.

It is a favourite with walkers on the Pennine Way which meanders north from the tiny village of Edale, the beginning of Kinder Scout.

The southern limestone hills and dales of the White Peak are altogether gentler and undulating. The plateaux have been eroded into deep forested dales populated by small stone villages and often threaded by walking trails along former rail routes. Here you will discover the beautiful valley of the River Wye and the landscape of the limestone plateaux that is characterised by thousands of stone walls enclosing the fields.

The Wye itself has a total of 15 tributary dales between Buxton and Ashford -in -the -Water, 8 dales north of the river and 7 dales south of it.

For accommodation around the White and Dark Peaks, please use the links below, or go here

Places of Interest in The Peak District	Places to take the Kids in The Peak District	Places to Eat and Drink in The Peak District
Homepage	*Other accommodation in The Peak District*	Advertise